Teenage life — better now，or in the past?

    Does this situation sound familiar (熟悉)？

    You are complaining (抱怨)to your parents about something. Maybe your computer isn't powerful enough to play the latest games. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Then you hear...

    When I was your age, there weren't any computers or video games. And I didn't get a bike until I was sixteen. And it was second-hand. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} 

    So, is it really true that life is better for teenagers now? It is certainly true that many teenagers have got more things nowadays.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} So parents have got more money to spend on each child. And many things are cheaper than they were when our parents were children.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Forty years ago, no one could imagine a world with tiny computers and amazing smartphones. And now these things are necessary — we can't imagine living without them!

However, technology often means we spend more time at home. And often it is just us with our computer or television. Teenagers don't do enough exercise. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}And, although young people still get on well with their friends，some people think teenagers today don't have so many social activities as they did in the past.

    What do you think? How is teenage life better these days?

C

Today, we are talking with Fritzi，a great collector of china(瓷制的)elephants．

(Q=Question；A=Answer)

Q：{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Ai Well, it all goes back to when I was a kid．When I was about six or seven，one of my cousins gave me a small china elephant for my birthday, and I like it·so much that I decided to start collecting them．

Q：So，you've been collecting them ever since?

A：Yeah, that's right．It's been almost thirty years．

Q：{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

A：I don't know, really．I like the fact that there are so many different kinds and I also like the fact that some of them are so beautiful. Also, I really like elephants．The're amazing animals．

Q：{#blank#}3{#/blank#}．

A：I've got over five thousand．It's one of the biggest collections in my country ,I think．I'm getting new ones all the time as well．I find them in second—hand shops．I buy them on the Internet and sometimes my friends give them to me as gifts．

Q：{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A：Well, I've got a special room for them in my house where I've got them all on display(陈列)．I've got shelves(架子)and shelves of them! Actually, one day I'd like to open my own china elephant museum．I'm sure a lot of people would come and see them．

Q：{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A：I do, actually．It's one of the oldest ones in my collection．It's from 1897, and it's a big black one with sad eyes．It's so beautiful, and it makes me want to cry—but in a good way．

    In the new century, people use “smart clothes” not only for covering their bodies, but also for many other kinds of uses. Some kinds of smart clothes come into the market. A German clothing maker invented the “MP3 blue jacket”. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} An English company(公司) developed(开发) a cloth keyboard, they put it onto your pants. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} If it gets dirty, you can wash it and make it clean.

    It's known to us that technology(技术) improves day by day. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Scientists are developing clothes that can show your body temperature and heat you up before you feel cold. Other smart clothes to wear are special medical(医疗的) ones. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} This technology can also provide(提供) important information about your environment. Shirts can warn you of serious pollution. Jackets with GPS(全球定位系统) technology can keep you from getting lost.

    People begin to love the idea. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Maybe smart clothes will be common on Paris streets one day —and even in your home.

    A hobby can be almost anything that a person likes to do in his spare time. Hobbyists raise pets, watch birds, paint pictures, play the piano and grow flowers. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} They collect everything from books to butterflies and from boxes to stamps.

    People take up hobbies because these activities offer enjoyment, friendship and relaxation. Hobbies help people relax after a long time of hard work, and provide a balance between work and play. Hobbies offer interesting activities for the old. Some hobbies can make a child grow as a person, develop his interest and help him learn new skills. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Doctors have found that hobbies are useful in helping patients recover from illness. Hobbies give patients who can't move around something to do, and provide interests that keep them from thinking about themselves. Many hospitals treat patients by having them take up interesting hobbies. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    In early times, most people were too busy making a living to have many hobbies. But some persons who had spare time did enjoy hobbies. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} People today have more time than ever before for hobbies. Machines have now reduced much time that people must spend on their jobs.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Those who have developed hobbies never need to worry about what to do with their newly-found free time hours.

    Sir William Osler, a famous Canadian doctor expressed the value of hobbies by saying, “No man is really happy or safe without a hobby.”

A. More people retire(退休) at an earlier age than before.

B. Hobbies can also help a patient to keep healthy.

C. The ancient Egyptians played games with balls made of wood.

D. They also go to concerts, climb mountains, go fishing, skate and swim.

E. Anyone, old or young, sick or well, rich or poor, can follow a good hobby, in spite of his age, health or money

F. As some hobbies have become less popular.

A: It is such a lovely day. I love sunshine.

B:{#blank#}1{#/blank#}

A: I hope it stays like this.

B:{#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

A: Is the weather usually like this here?

B: A bit hotter than today.

A：{#blank#}3{#/blank#}

B: It's pretty cold and it often snows in winter.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}

A: A lot like the weather here, not too hot or cold.

B: I heard it rains a lot.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A: Mmm, yes. It rains but not any more than other places.

    Experts in nutrition(营养) suggest that we should eat at least five different kinds of vegetables and fruit a day. They are very necessary for our health and help our bodies work well. They can help reduce (减少) the risk of getting ill. There are a lot of vegetables and fruit to choose from and they taste delicious. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    It's easy to buy our food from the local supermarket, so why do we go to the trouble of growing our own? Here are several good reasons: 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} You can pick and eat it at once. When you have tried it, you will agree that vegetables and fruit that are eaten straight from the garden taste better than anything you can buy in a supermarket.

    You may want to cut down on your "food miles"-the distance that a product has travelled before it reaches your kitchen. Many food packages are flown halfway across the earth. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Homegrown food is likely to be healthier. Food producers often use fertilizers(化肥) and pesticides (农药) which can end up in your food. If you grow your own, things are different.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} You might also choose to grow some traditional vegetables and fruit. These often have more of the vitamins, minerals(矿物质) and protein(蛋白质) that keep you healthy.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} And you can grow your own even if you only have a small backyard or a balcony(R E). Some food can grow well in pots, including lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. You can recycle plastic bottles and cups to grow something. Just make sure there are holes for drainage (排水) and a small plate under them to catch drops of water.

Happy gardening!